There it was. Aura licked her lips as she stared hungrily into the window. The peak perfection of a delicacy. The golden standard of food. A meat pie. And it was about to be hers.

Rising slowly from where she was crouched behind a crate, she made her way over to the small bakery. The heavy scent of meat accompanied by the light sweetness of bread was enough to make her drool. It had been days since she'd had a proper meal.

Combing her greasy hair back into a serviceable bun, Aura crossed the noisy street, making last-minute adjustments to her grey, mud-stained dress. Countless carriages rumbled by, and hooded men stood at every corner, but Aura was skilled at surviving the streets of Oobay.

The city was known for its high mortality rate and terrible living conditions. Children were taken from parents daily to either slave in the mines and factories, or worse, serve the king. Aura had managed to stay alive and free—being a sixteen-year-old girl was incredibly rare in Oobay—but she had the Ancient Ones and possibly her heritage to thank for that.

"Hey, you!" One of the king's hooded men stepped forward. "What is your occupation?"

Aura strode confidently over to him, having done this countless times before, though the slight quiver of her limbs never went away. "I work at the wand factory just a few streets from here."

She hoped her slight frame wouldn't give away her age. Women over the age of twenty were mostly ignored; it was those who were between the ages of thirteen and nineteen that were in danger of being taken.

"Huh, parents are gone?" The man removed a scroll from his cloak and unrolled it. "Just need your name so I can see if your story is true." He grinned slowly. "What a pity it'd be if it isn't."

Aura swore silently; a scroll definitely changed things. The mages had crafted them for the use of the Guardsmen—the hooded ones. The scrolls could read minds, but permission needed to be given first in the form of the person's name. Very few would die rather than give their name, but Aura most definitely would.

"My name?" Aura closed her eyes, allowing herself to feel the pulsing mind of the hooded one in front of her. There was always something off about their minds, a void to them.

Ignoring the ominous thought, she allowed herself to probe his mind, instilling a command of sleep. A thud was all she needed to break from her concentration.

Her eyes opened, and a slow smirk formed on her face. There he was, collapsed on the ground, stuck in a deep sleep. He would wake in a few minutes—her touch was more potent—but it was enough time to escape. Glancing around quickly, she noted that there were only about four people who could have possibly seen her. Given the fact that one was too little to know what he saw and the others were too occupied with their stroll to work, she risked not creating a fake scene.

Fighting the urge to steal the scroll only Guardsmen could use, she moved on to her initial target, the bakery. The door swung open, a merry tinkling of a bell following. The aroma of so much fresh food nearly made Aura collapse in hunger. Forcing slumber on the hooded one had drained her, and she was already malnourished. But she still had the energy for one more command.

"Can I help ye?" An older man—perhaps thirty—stepped out from a wooden doorway, his short brown beard dusted in flour. He was tall, much taller than Aura, but she didn't have to fear him.

"I was wondering how much your meat pies are?" Her deep, raspy voice seemed to surprise the older man, but it was expected. She was just five feet with the frame of a wooden rail.

"Three ha'silvers per pie. Loaves are but a copper. Ye sure ye have the coin for a pie?" The man's accent was peculiar, similar to the miners of the Bluefrost mountains. Aura had never been outside of Oobay, but she'd always dreamed of traveling Allegora.

Taking a quick look around, she said, "I'm afraid I don't." Aura snatched the man's arm, projecting sleep as strongly as she could. He tumbled to the ground, a confused expression on his face. Snatching two meat pies, Aura raced out the back door, glancing in pity at the man. "I'm sorry," she whispered before hurrying out into the smoky alley.

***

"Look what I have!" Aura crawled through the entrance to their makeshift home—more a shack made of a bunch of stacked crates and mildewy blankets, but a home nonetheless. Two dirty little faces popped up from the mass of rags in the corner, materializing into two young bodies.

"Aura!" squealed Aela, the youngest of the three. "Have any food?" Aerik scrambled over as well, his eyes wide with delight. "What is that smell!"

Aura put a finger to her lips, her face stern, but her eyes crinkling at the corners. "I have two meat pies to share, but you have to be quiet. If others were to hear you, who knows what they'd do."

The two little ones nodded seriously, shifting nervously at the thought. Their home alley was a dangerous one, though among the nicest in Oobay, if that counted for anything. If it weren't for Aura's reputation of silencing even the most deadly, the three of them would have been killed already, or worse, sold.

"Can we eat them now?" little Aela asked, her eyes hopeful. She was small, even for the age of eight. Her ribs showed through the thin rag of a dress that encompassed her body. If Aura and Aerik were underweight, then Aela was emaciated.

Caring for them was difficult, especially since Aura refused to work in the factories. They caused far too much death, and Aela and Aerik couldn't lose her too.

Their father had been sentenced to work in the mines after stealing some medicine Aela had needed. No one ever returned from the mines. And her mother... Aura glanced down at the meat pies in her hands and closed her eyes at the memory. The hooded ones had taken her to serve the king, and she had never come back. Families were a hopeless dream in Oobay, as were many things.

"Aura? Are you listening? We want food!" Aerik's loud whine brought her back to the present. Her siblings were practically drooling with hunger.

"Shh, of course! I'm sorry, I was just... remembering." Aura smiled and placed one of the meat pies on the crate that served as a table. Aela had tried to make it look like a real table with a plaid piece of cloth that had long since lost its vibrant hues. "Eat slowly, understand? This meat pie is good for you, but it's a bit rich. We'll save as much as we can."

The two nodded and began to dig in, but were stopped by Aura. "Not with such dirty hands! Do you want to get sick? Go on, hurry and wash them." She grinned and shooed them to the far corner of their small home. A leaking pipe ran along the side of the building next to them. They had a cracked pot propped up underneath it, so as to not waste any of the precious water.

Cupping their hands underneath the steady drip, they were soon done, their faces and hands glistening wet. "We have no clean cloths, so just shake them dry." Aura shook her hands vigorously, laughing as Aela shook so hard that she fell down.

"Ready to eat now?" A hearty yes followed.

Sitting down, they all dug in, humming in satisfaction as the flaky crust revealed tender meat, rich gravy, and bright green vegetables.

The first pie was devoured in a matter of minutes despite Aura's warning, which she ignored herself. "We're saving the second one until tomorrow; is that understood? We can't afford to eat two in one day."

Aela sighed in disappointment. "I could eat a whole dragon. I'm still so hungry." She patted her little stomach sadly.

"That pie was good." Aerik nodded in agreement. "Best one I've ever eaten."

Aura laughed and pulled them into a hug. "Let your stomach sit a little; I'm sure you'll feel full in a few minutes. Though I feel like I could eat a whole dragon too."

Aerik pulled away slightly, his expression thoughtful. "If I were to find a dragon and tame it, teaching it to listen to me, we could fly away from here." His voice rose in excitement. "We could go live in the mountains, or maybe the forest. If we had a dragon, you could finally travel all over Atulau like you've always wanted to, Aura."

She blinked away tears and smiled, drawing them close again. "If you were ever to find a dragon, Aerik, I have no doubt it would learn to love you and trust you. But I don't need a dragon to see the world. I have my whole world with me right here."

Aela snuggled up against her, her deep brown eyes wistful. "If I had to choose a dragon or you, I'd choose you. But I still would like to see a forest. I hear they're big and green, and the trees go this high." She gestured with her arms, trying to throw them as wide as possible. "Do you think we'll see a real tree someday? The ones here are tiny, and they never have any pretty leaves."

Aura nodded. "Yes, someday you'll see a real tree. I promise."